Suit blames city for model's drowning death in river

By William Lee | Tribune reporterMay 26, 2011

The father of an up-and-coming, Bosnian-born fashion model whose body was discovered inside her car submerged in the North Branch of the Chicago River filed a wrongful death lawsuit today against the city.

Chicago police on Saturday pulled Irma Sabanovic's Ford Focus, with her body inside, from the river more than a week after she had disappeared on her way to a Goose Island neighborhood nightclub. Investigators said they believe Sabanovic drowned after her car plunged off Blackhawk Street and into the river in the rainy, early morning hours of May 12.

Attorneys for her father, Fehim Sabanovic, filed the suit in Cook County Circuit Court today, claiming the city failed to warn Irma Sabanovic and others of the “dangerous condition” of the city-owned land on the 1100 block of West Blackhawk Street, where Sabanovic’s car plunged into the river.

The suit notes that the city previously had installed barricades and traffic control devices near the accident scene, but said the city failed to make reasonable inspections of the area and allowed the barriers to fall into disrepair. Two days after Sabanovic was found, city workers installed new concrete barriers and reflective signs where a Goose Island side street dead-ends at the east bank of the Chicago River.

Barriers had been installed after cab driver Rick Roman died in 1992 when he drove through a dead end on the opposite side of the river and into the water. Roman's estate sued the city and received a $500,000 settlement in 1997, according to court records.

Lawyers for Fehim Sabanovic are expected to go before a judge Friday to force the city to preserve evidence for the suit.

In a brief response, a spokeswoman with the city’s Law Department disputed the suit's claims that the street was dangerous.

"(The street) was well-lit, there was a 'No Outlet' sign prominently displayed at the entrance to the street and there was an 8-inch curb at the end of the street, which is four times higher than the average city curb," spokeswoman Jennifer Hoyle said.